Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Wednesday 23 June 1999

Scottish Executive

Crofters Commission

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans a review of the Crofters Commission.

Ross Finnie: The five yearly review of the Crofters Commission falls due during 1999 and will start in July.

  The terms of reference for the first stage of the review will be:

  "To carry out a study of the Crofters Commission’s status and of the relevance of its functions (Prior Options Study) in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance and having regard to the needs of crofting and rural communities in the Highlands and Islands and to any views on the future of NDPBs, and the various potential alternatives to these, which may be expressed by the new Scottish Executive."

  As an essential part of the review process, officials will be consulting widely with interested parties.

Hospital Resources

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to resolve the growing problem of bed-blocking in Scotland’s hospitals and what resources it intends to make available.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive   is committed to ensuring that Health Boards in Scotland continue to work with their local authority partners in addressing all avenues, including financial, to reduce delays in discharge from NHS care.

  Over and above the £800 million available to local authorities for community care this year, the NHS makes substantial transfers of resources to local authorities for community care. These totalled nearly £120 million in 1998-99. It is our intention that additional resources will transfer this year.

Justice

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to pursue any further prosecutions in the case of Sunjit Singh Chhokar who was killed on 4 November 1998.

Lord Hardie: Following the trial of Ronnie Coulter, who was acquitted by a jury in March of this year of the murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar, Crown Counsel instructed that further enquiries be carried out to consider whether any other person or persons should be prosecuted for crimes committed against Mr Chhokar.

  The Procurator Fiscal at Hamilton has been conducting these enquiries on behalf of Crown Counsel and his report was submitted to Crown Office last week. The case is presently being considered by Crown Counsel and a decision as to any further proceedings is expected shortly.

Local Government

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to receive the final report from the Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament.

Donald Dewar: I received the final report today and am placing a copy of it in the Parliamentary library. Copies are being sent out to all local authorities in Scotland, to all Members of the Scottish Parliament, to all Community Councils and to everyone who responded to the Commission’s earlier consultation documents.

  I hope that all members will take the time to read this well-considered and important report and recommendations which if implemented would radically reshape the face of local government in Scotland. I very much endorse the report’s call to local government to start immediately on the task of democratic renewal.

  It is fitting that the Scottish Parliament should take the earliest opportunity to debate its relations with the other democratically elected tier of government in Scotland; and I hope that there will be an early opportunity for that. Meantime I shall urgently consider the detail of the recommendations in the report. I intend in due course to issue a paper that will set out the Scottish Ministers’ full response to the report and our proposals for further action.

Ministerial Support Staff

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the support staff which will be provided for each Scottish Minister (including the First Minister and the Scottish Law Officers) and junior Scottish Minister.

Donald Dewar: The civil servants of The Scottish Office (and of the Crown Office in relation to Law Officers) will support Scottish Ministers in the execution of their Ministerial responsibilities. Details of the Private Office staff who will be provided for each Minister as part of that are set out in the table below.

  

 

Staff in each Private 
  Office



First 
Minister

6
  


Deputy 
First Minister

3
  


Business 
Manager

3
  


Other 
Ministers (19)

2
  


TOTAL

50
  



  In addition, I have already announced the appointed of a Principal Special Adviser and a Spokesman, and will announce in due course the appointment of further Special Advisers to provide specialist and political advice and assistance complementing that of the civil service.

Ministerial Support Staff

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals (including drivers) will be employed in the Private Office of each Scottish Minister (including the First Minister and the Scottish Law Officers) and junior Scottish Minister; to specify what the responsibilities of each of these members of staff will be; and, what is the estimated annual cost of employing these staff.

Donald Dewar: The function of Private Office staff is to support Ministers in the efficient and effective execution of their duties. Information about the projected staffing levels in Ministerial Private Offices is given in my reply today to the question from Mr Gallie. The estimated annual cost of employing these 50 staff is £979,451.

  Ministerial cars are provided for Ministers of the Scottish Executive and of UK Government Departments when in Scotland by the Government Car Service (Scotland). Eleven drivers are employed at a cost of £10,545 for each driver. They constitute a shared resource and are not employed in the Private Office of any Scottish Minister.

Rural Development

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to recognise the importance of rural areas and to ensure that rural development is given a high priority over the next four years.

Ross Finnie: Rural development will be one of the Executive’s top priorities but real progress will only be achieved if there is an integrated approach at the highest level. Accordingly, a Ministerial Committee reporting to the Cabinet has been established with the task of furthering the economic, environmental and social development of rural Scotland. The members of the Committee are:

  Ross Finnie, Minister for Rural Affairs (Chairman)

  Sarah Boyack, Minister for Transport and the Environment

  Alasdair Morrison, Deputy Minister for Enterprise in the Highlands and Islands and Gaelic

  John Home Robertson, Deputy Minister for Rural Affairs

  Jackie Baillie, Deputy Minister for Communities

  Angus MacKay, Deputy Minister for Justice.

  Other Ministers will be invited to take part as necessary. My Ministerial colleagues and I are talking to a range of rural interest groups and the work plan of this Committee will be drawn up in the light of those discussions.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Accommodation

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Presiding Officer what opportunities exist to acquire additional office and meeting room accommodation near the Assembly Hall.

Sir David Steel: The requirement for accommodation to support the Parliament’s business is being monitored and preliminary investigations are being made regarding the options that may be available to satisfy any additional requirement. Parliament officials have looked specifically at the potential needs for overspill accommodation for the committees and have confirmed the availability of two local venues should this prove necessary.

Accommodation

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is willing to negotiate arrangements with the City of Edinburgh Council to enable the Parliament to have offices and committee meeting rooms near the Assembly Hall on a permanent basis.

Sir David Steel: The Parliament has decided to continue with the Holyrood Project to establish a permanent home for the Scottish Parliament. On that basis there should be no requirement for the leasing of office space and committee meeting rooms near the Assembly Hall on a permanent basis.

Accommodation

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is willing to negotiate arrangements with the Church of Scotland whereby the Parliament continue to sit in the Assembly Hall and vacate it each year to allow the General Assembly to be held.

Sir David Steel: No. The Parliament has agreed to continue with the Holyrood project to establish a permanent home for the Scottish Parliament.